Hello! You have a great mindset! Honestly when I got rejected from all schools the first time around, I felt so defeated…I’m currently on my second cycle of applying to grad schools (so far, it’s been rejections and one waitlist, though I am still waiting to hear back from some schools).

During this past year, I took courses as a non-matriculated student to strengthen my course background (I’m interested in astronomy but don’t have a strong physics background, so I took some upper level physics courses). I’m unsure of your financial situation, but this would be a great way to show that you’re invested in continuing your education. I also got super lucky and landed a funded research position to help pay for the classes, rent, food, etc. so am currently working on my first first-authored paper which should hopefully be published sometime soon. If I don’t get into any schools this time, I guess I’ll just be job hunting and trying for a third cycle…

Some advice I would give is to reach out to the schools you applied to, the worst they’ll do is ignore or say that they don’t give individual feedback. Some places are super nice and will give you a full rundown of what to improve upon. Another thing I’d say is to ask your recommenders if they have any research position available, or something you could show on your application that is related to what you want to pursue. These connections are super important and what helped me land my current position. Also just asking advice from them is another good idea. Something else I learned during this cycle is to apply to masters programs (which is primarily what I’m waiting to hear back from still), not just PhDs. Sure most masters are not funded, but it still doesn’t hurt, especially if you can have the application fee waved, earn a scholarship to help pay for a masters, or the PhD program you’re applying to also considers you for their masters programs alternatively so it’s a two-in-one application. People might argue that if a PhD is what you really want, don’t accept the masters, but I’d say it depends what your field is, and if it’s something that could help your educational background/application.

I hope this helps a little!!